"He was too big to go into the export plant's chain," Mr Pearson said of the beast's near-miss at the abattoir.

"We have a high turnover of cattle and he was lucky enough to stay behind."

Larger cattle on increase says vet

Margaret River vet Rupert Mothersole specialises in dairy cattle and said while he had not seen a cow the size of Knickers before, it was not unusual for a Friesian steer to grow quite large if they saw out their life.

"We've seen, over the last 30 to 40 years, quite a considerable increase in the average size of the cow," he said.

"Obviously the bulls and the steers are also going to grow larger as we select larger genetics."

Others have come close. In August 2014, Blossom a 190cm-tall American Holstein, was awarded the record for the world's tallest cow but died just a year after being officially recognised by the record books.